An image grab taken from Egyptian state TV shows Egyptian Defence
Minister Abdelfatah al-Sissi delivering a statement as opposition leader
Mohamed ElBaradei (L), the heads of the Coptic Church and Al-Azhar --
Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning and other officials sit next to
him on July 3, 2013 during the unveiling of a roadmap for Egypt's
political future, with state media reporting that the plan sets a tight
schedule for new elections. AFP PHOTO

Thursday, July 04, 2013

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Egypt's deposed president Mohamed Morsi
is detained in a military facility with top aides after the army
announced his ouster, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood said
Thursday.

"Morsi and the entire presidential team are under
house arrest in the Presidential Republican Guards Club," Gehad
El-Haddad, the son of a top Morsi aide, told AFP.

Haddad's father, Essam El-Haddad, widely seen as Morsi's right-hand man, was among those held, he added.

A military spokesman did not respond to requests
for confirmation of Morsi's detention, and it was not immediately clear
whether the ousted president would later be allowed to leave.

His top aides have switched off their phones.
Other presidential aides who were separated from Morsi earlier in the
day say they have lost communication with their leader.

Morsi had earlier been at his office in the Republican Guard's headquarters, before he was moved.

A police general told AFP that security forces were seeking to arrest leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Police have already arrested Saad al-Katatni, head
of Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party, and Rashad Bayoumi, the Muslim
Brotherhood's deputy supreme guide, the general said.

Hours after the military announced it had
cancelled the constitution and would appoint the head of Egypt's top
court as interim president, Morsi issued a defiant call to arms in a
prerecorded speech aired on Al-Jazeera television.